EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN

CAMERA BODIES

Over the past few years I’ve used the Canon 5D. I first bought the 5D MK3 around 4 years ago and loved it. When the 5D MK4 came out I was pretty excited to upgrade. These 2 cameras have pretty much been the only cameras I’ve used for my Instagram photos unless I’ve stated otherwise.

The downfall of the 5D MK3/ MK4 is its video capabilities. Whilst the MK4 is capable of shooting at 60 FPS (which may be sufficient for some people) I much prefer shooting in super slow motion. For this reason I also own the 1DX MK2 for video which I’ll talk more about next.

Most of my creative friends who thrive with video shoot with the Canon 1DX MK2. I was hesitant to buy it at first due to its size and weight and went with the Sony A7S MK2 instead. I did enjoy using the Sony and its a great option for those who want to travel light, but after testing out my friends 1DX MK2 cameras I found the Sony just didn’t compare. I ended up selling my Sony soon after and upgraded to the Canon. For me it was a no brainer. The camera itself produces much nicer video in my opinion. Since I’ve used Canon cameras for years I’m much more familiar with the settings and already had a good selection of compatible lenses. If you use Sony for photos and have a good selection of Sony lenses it might be worth sticking with Sony for video too.

We bought this camera just to try something new. It’s a beautiful camera and such a pleasure to use! It’s more of an every day accessory to just walk around with to snap unexpected moments. With a fixed 28mm lens its pretty much perfect for any occasion. It’s amazing in Low Light too and sometimes returns better results than the 5D MK4!

LENSES

Lenses are often more important than the camera especially if you’re aiming for a particular style or look. I have 5 lenses which cover everything I need when it comes to shooting.

This is pretty much my go-to lens and probably my favourite of all lenses. I don’t often shoot wider than 24mm so I use it for most of my landscapes, streets, etc. It’s super fast, versatile, and sharp. It’s also Canon’s best lens for shooting the Milky Way (even though this isn’t something I shoot often)

Like I said, I don’t often shoot wider than 24mm but this lens is the one I use when 24mm isn’t quite wide enough. It’s the only zoom lens I own/ really need as I find 24mm – 35mm my most commonly use focal length. It’s also a useful lens if you want some extra wiggle room when it comes to cropping images for instagram.

The perfect lens for portraits and arguably one of the best value for money lenses you can buy! Even when I’m not planning on using this lens it often stays in my camera bag due to being so unnoticeably tiny!

UNDERWATER

For all underwater shots I use Aqua Tech underwater housing for the 1DX MK2. Even though I don’t get chance to use it regularly, it’s a necessity when travelling to tropical destinations. I bought the huge dome lens which makes shooting half in half out photos extremely easy!

OTHER

Another question I get asked numerous times on a daily basis is who takes your photos when you’re both in them.

Myself and Lauren take all our own photos unless I say otherwise in the caption. We use this Manfrotto tripod. Whilst some of our photos are planned, we don’t create fake scenarios. They’re planned to create a real and candid feeling that happened moments before the photo was taken. We find ourselves in amazing situations every day and want to share these moments with you. Since we often travel only with each other, we use the tripod achieve this style of imagery.

I have 2 drones from DJI – The Mavic Pro (which I bought first) and the Mavic Air (which I’ve only had for around 2 months)

Both drones are great and quite comparable but if I had to pick just one it would be the Mavic Air. It’s so tiny and can be transported anywhere with no fuss. When my camera bag is full we’ve even placed it in Laurens tiny handbag! It shoots in 120 FPS which makes it extra special.

58 Comments

Hey Jack, I really love your Instagram content. I am an aspiring photographer and filmmaker and really look up to you. I was wondering whether you did edit your Instagram photos, and if so, what do you use? Lightroom? Photoshop? Thanks for taking the time to read my comment. Keep up the Great STUFF!!! 🙂

You have such awesome photos! I have been following your IG for awhile and I am just amazed every time! May I know if, for photos both of you are in, that you setup a tripod each time, especially for the very candid-looking ones? Because some of the photos of you two look like they’ve been taken in the middle of a street, on a rooftop, on a rocky mountain, or very near a body of water that more or less may be difficult to setup a tripod. If so, how?

Thank you for posting all this information! If I am someone who strictly likes to take photos and not videos do you recomment the Canon EOS 5D Mark III or the Sony A7s Mk II for those beautiful results? Any advice would be great!

Hello Jack, I’m just in love with your work! thank you for sharing all this precious informations with your followers… If only you could do a tutorial too, it will be so helpful, specially for beginner as me…

this is a very great information and I always love your posts!!!! very excited to see it! but I do have another questions…. do you ever use a camera phone for your photos? and if yes, what’s the best camera phone do you suggest? and also what app did you use to edit your Instagram photos..? ^^

Hey Jack! Thank you for the very insightful post. What camera would you recommend for a beginner? I am still torn apart between DSLRs like Canon and Mirrorless like Sony. I would like to achieve both great photography and videos!

YES! Thank you! So much useful information for me 🙂
Btw.: I was in September in Bali and now we have a full video from here if you want to check it you can here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-NepuVgHE
and thank you! :))

I love seeing your pictures from here versus the small Instagram square. The details are so nice! Thanks so much for this post about your gear! Although it’s obviously not the gear that makes a good photograph some lenses are more useful in certain situations. I was recently given the canon 24 1.4 as a gift and have been thinking of exchanging it for the 35 1.4 but I’m torn. I mostly use it for travel so I was wondering which focal length you find most useful all around when traveling… (I own some other primes but not L series). Love your work &I can’t wait to see the videos!

Hi Jack, this is a really helpful post. Thanks for sharing with us! Would you consider doing a turorial too on shooting as well as editing travel photos? I am sure many of followers would love that. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

Hi Jack. Im Alex, big fan of your photos and lifestyle. I live in Greece. I hope you had fun last summer while visitting our beautiful islands. Keep having fun and give us a change to travel to such amazing places thru your photos.
P.S. Cant wait for your vids.